A Place Of (Serious) Business

WWJ’s Marie Osborne reports from China where she’s traveling with a Wayne County trade delegation.

On Sunday the Wayne County Trade Delegation attended a meeting gat the Jiangsu Gong Ying Hi Tech Investment company. It’s here that Wayne County has opened a preliminary home for business people who wish to look into trade opportunities in the county. The man greeted the bus when we arrived.

The young ladies were at the door.

I was told that in China, the office staff is sometimes run like a military operation. It’s to show outsiders that this company does business with seriousness and precision.The ribbon cutting was like nothing in the states and we were told fanfare like this is usually reserved for heads of state. After the ribbon cutting the owner of the company had the theme song from the Magnificent 7 playing on the speakers for that touch of Americana.

Here’s a photo of the office of the chairman of this company.
Take note of the stuffed dog on the sofa to the right.

The Jiangsu Gong Ying Hi Tech Investment company rolled out a plush red carpet for the group. The aim here is to have a presence in this highly industrial city of Nanjing where business opportunities for both the Chinese and Michigan can be discussed.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano is leading the 26-member Michigan group, which began an eight-day schedule Friday. Private funds are paying for the trip. Ficano’s office said the group will meet with Chinese government officials, an electric carmaker, trade associations and others during their visit to four cities.